Synorb publishes this post, and we build two of the tools on the list: Synorb and Hanging Context. We have tried to be fair. Every fact about another product comes from that product's own website, docs or its entry in the official MCP Registry, checked on October 24, 2026. Where a vendor does not publish something, we say "not stated". Prices and limits change, so check the vendor's page before you build on them.
The official MCP Registry returns more than 100 servers for the search "news". Many cover one country, one feed or one niche. This list keeps to tools that work as general news sources for agents, plus a few web search tools that agents often use for news.
The short answer
- Free, cited news with no setup: Hanging Context or NewsMCP.
- Following AI companies, VC firms, private companies and business podcasts: Synorb.
- Telling a one-outlet report from a story many outlets confirm: Newsflash, CLSTR or NewsMCP.
- The widest set of news outlets: GNews.
- Anything on the open web, not only news: Exa or TinyFish.
- Private-company news plus company data: akta.pro.
- News about the AI agent industry itself: The Agent Times.
Comparison table
| Server | What it covers | Key needed? | Links to sources? | Published pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synorb | Streams for AI companies, VC firms, private companies and business and technology podcasts; also SEC filings, central banks and research | Yes, free key | Yes, every item | Free Starter plan: 100 Manifests a month; paid plans on synorb.com/pricing |
| Hanging Context | News stories across AI, finance, science, health, government and more | No | Yes, every paragraph | Free |
| NewsMCP | Live world news, grouped into events | No (a free key raises limits) | Yes | Paid plan prices not stated |
| Newsflash | 260+ outlets, grouped into confirmed events | No for a test tier; free key for more | Lists the outlets behind each event | Premium $29/month |
| CLSTR | News grouped into events and longer-running "situations" | Yes for search (free key or sign-in) | Yes | Free; Builder $29/month; Scale $299/month |
| GNews | 80,000+ news sources | Yes | Yes | Free plan for non-commercial use; paid plans on its site |
| Exa | The web, with a "news" category filter | No for a rate-limited tier | Yes, URLs | $10 free credit a month; search from $4 per 1,000 requests |
| TinyFish | Web search, page fetch, research and monitors | Sign-in (OAuth) | Yes, URLs | Free daily allowance; amounts not stated |
| akta.pro | Company news and data, with a private-company focus | Yes (sign-in or key) | Not stated | Pay as you go; prices not stated on the docs page |
| The Agent Times | News about the AI agent industry | Not stated as required | Returns a sources field | Not stated |
1. Synorb
Synorb organizes what it reads into streams, one per company, firm or show. Its four largest areas, counted on October 24, 2026:
- AI companies: more than 250 streams
- VC firms: more than 140 streams
- Private companies: more than 1,000 streams
- Business and technology podcasts: more than 120 streams
It also covers SEC filings, central bank publications and research. Synorb returns each item as a Manifest: a summary, the key claims and a link to the original source. An agent can filter by company, publisher type, named source, date or SEC form, and save a Beacon, a saved search it can run each day for only what is new.
- MCP server:
https://mcp.synorb.com/mcp - Key: free, from synorb.com/connect/start
- Pricing: the Starter plan is free with 100 Manifests a month
Best for: following specific AI companies, VC firms, private companies and podcasts, where the exact source matters. Choose something else for broad coverage of general news outlets (GNews or NewsMCP), or for many thousands of reads a month at no cost.
2. Hanging Context
Hanging Context is a free news site written for AI agents. It is rebuilt every 12 hours, and every paragraph cites its sources. Synorb builds it.
- MCP server:
https://hangingcontext.com/mcp - Key: none
- Pricing: free
Best for: a free, cited overview of what is happening, with no account. Choose something else if you need news from the last hour, or news on one company you name.
3. NewsMCP (by NewsCatcher)
NewsMCP returns live world news with duplicate coverage merged into single stories. Its maker, NewsCatcher, says each story carries citations to the underlying sources. The default view returns up to three links per story; a "full" setting returns every link.
- MCP server:
https://mcp.newsmcp.com/mcp - Key: none to start (20 calls an hour, 7 days back); a free key raises this to 50 calls an hour and 14 days
- Pricing: paid plans exist; prices not stated on the site
Best for: free, keyless, general world news with source links. It is a better choice than Synorb for broad headline news across many outlets.
4. Newsflash
Newsflash says it watches more than 260 outlets and groups their stories into events. Each event has a confidence score based on how many different outlets reported it, so an agent can separate a single report from a story many outlets are running.
- MCP server:
https://newsflash.sh/mcp - Key: none for a test tier (50 requests a day, 24 hours back); a free key gives 1,000 requests a day and 30 days back
- Pricing: Premium is $29 a month, with a five-year archive
Best for: checking whether a story is confirmed by several outlets, and testing ideas against years of past events.
5. CLSTR
CLSTR groups articles from many outlets into events, and events into "situations" that it follows over time. Its get_cluster tool returns the source articles with their publisher links.
- MCP server:
https://mcp.clstr.news/mcp - Key: two tools answer without a key (3 calls a day); search needs a free key or sign-in
- Pricing: free (100 requests a day); Builder $29 a month; Scale $299 a month
Best for: following a developing situation over days, with a timeline of how it changed.
6. GNews
GNews is a news API that says it covers more than 80,000 sources. Its official MCP server is listed in the MCP Registry. Each article includes the source name and URL.
- MCP server:
https://mcp.gnews.io/(from its MCP Registry entry) - Key: required; the free key needs no card
- Pricing: the free plan gives 100 requests a day, non-commercial use only, with a 12-hour delay; paid plans are listed on its site
Best for: the widest set of news outlets on this list. It is a better choice than Synorb when you need coverage of traditional media across many countries.
7. Exa
Exa is a web search engine for AI. It is not a news product, but its search API has a "news" category, and results include the URL and, when Exa can find one, a published date.
- MCP server:
https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp - Key: not needed for a free, rate-limited tier; sign-in or a key for more
- Pricing: $10 of free credit, reset each month; search from $4 per 1,000 requests
Best for: questions about anything on the open web, including topics no news tool tracks. The agent still has to judge the quality of each page it finds.
8. TinyFish
TinyFish offers web search, page fetching, deep research and monitors that watch pages for changes. Its search tool returns titles, snippets and URLs. It has no news-specific filter that we could find.
- MCP server:
https://agent.tinyfish.ai/mcp - Key: sign-in (OAuth)
- Pricing: free within a daily allowance, then paid from a wallet; amounts not stated in its docs
Best for: agents that need to read and act on live websites, such as watching one page for changes.
9. akta.pro
akta.pro is a company-intelligence service. Its news tools find articles by company, industry, topic, sentiment, event type and date, and return summaries; a second tool returns the full article text. It also covers company profiles and signals such as headcount and web traffic.
- MCP server:
https://mcp.akta.pro/mcp - Key: sign-in in Claude and ChatGPT; an API key in coding tools
- Pricing: pay as you go with credits; some lookup tools are free; prices not stated on its docs page
Best for: news about private companies together with company data. It is a better choice than Synorb when you need data such as headcount, traffic or reviews, or news on companies that publish little themselves.
10. The Agent Times
The Agent Times describes itself as independent news for the AI agent economy, with sections such as platforms, funding, regulation and research. Its MCP tools search its articles and events and return a sources field.
- MCP server:
https://theagenttimes.com/mcp - Key: not stated as required
- Pricing: not stated
Best for: keeping up with the AI agent industry specifically.
How to choose
- Do you need sources? If the agent must show where a fact came from, pick a tool that links every item to its publisher.
- Do you need a key? Keyless tools (Hanging Context, NewsMCP, the Newsflash test tier, Exa's free tier) are the fastest way to start. Keys usually bring higher limits and longer history.
- What do you follow? Broad headlines suit NewsMCP or GNews. AI companies, VC firms, private companies and podcasts suit Synorb. Company data such as headcount and traffic suits akta.pro.
- How far back? Free tiers often limit history to days or weeks. Newsflash Premium lists five years.
Many agents use two tools: one for broad news and one for the specific companies or sources they track. These servers all speak MCP, so adding a second one is a few lines of configuration.
Frequently asked questions
What is an MCP server for news?
It is a news service that an AI agent can call through the Model Context Protocol, the standard Claude, ChatGPT and many agent frameworks use to connect to tools. The agent asks for news on a topic and gets back structured items, usually with dates and links.
Which news MCP servers are free and need no key?
Hanging Context is free with no key. NewsMCP, the Newsflash test tier, Exa's rate-limited tier and two CLSTR tools also work without a key, with limits on calls and history.
Which news MCP server links every item to its source?
Synorb links every item to the original publisher, and Hanging Context cites sources in every paragraph. NewsMCP, CLSTR and GNews also return source links; check each tool's settings, since some return fewer links by default.
Can I use more than one news MCP server?
Yes. Most MCP clients let you add several servers, and the agent picks the right tool for each question.
Who wrote this comparison?
Synorb, which also builds Synorb and Hanging Context. Facts about other tools come from their own sites and docs.